I have a close friend/neighbor who has a real dilemma on her hands right now. I know all I can do is pray about it, but sometimes I wonder if there is more that we can do beyond prayer.

My friend's almost 20 year old son is deaf. Mainstreaming may be a good thing for other disabilities, but an inability to communicate is an entirely different thing. The deaf community is rather cliquish and understandably so. Sign language is the first language they learn. For those who are totally deaf, as he is, what would be a native language for us is a second language for them. He did not even learn how to read until fifth grade, and if you don't sign, the easiest way to communicate with him is by drawing. His lack of communication puts him in a situation where he is unable to get a job unless a friend gives him some kind of work to do that doesn't require direct communication. He has finished high school, a special school for the deaf, and now he is home, sleeping in, and on the edge of depression. It's obviously something to be very concerned about.

So my question is this: Do schools for the deaf prepare their students to live in a hearing world? Should they? She can't answer that one, and I have a feeling he isn't ready to answer that question either.